Hodgson was just edged out of the prime starting position by home turf rider Noriyuki Haga – the margin was just 0.017s. After topping the timesheets during the second practice session, and in the process setting the second fastest ever lap time at the track, the HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing rider stormed to Superpole glory aboard his Ducati 998 F 01.

“Sugo is extremely technical but also massively rewarding,” said the 28-year-old Burnley-born rider, “and the chicane is totally unique. Some of the turns also have a useful camber, so I’m carrying a huge amount of speed through them. Roberto [Bonazzi], my Chief Engineer from Ducati Corse has been fantastic – he’s managed to help me find a great set-up that works really well on race and qualifying tyres. Dunlop has also done a really good job here. This all combines to give me a feeling of total confidence in the HM Plant Ducati. The wild cards test here all the time, so to be going faster than them is a great achievement. It’s been a good weekend so far and I certainly don’t intend to let anyone down tomorrow.”

James Toseland was disappointed not to fair better, but still managed to pick up seven places during the day. Toseland is in only his second season aboard a Superbike, and is already showing signs of greatness. “The pace is incredibly hot this season and I’ve improved a lot since yesterday,” said the 21-year-old from Sheffield. “My race set-up is spot-on and I’ve got a lot of grip, so I’ll be looking for a top eight finish. I’ve been running really well recently and I fully intend to keep up this high level of performance.”

1. Noriyuki Haga - 1m28.806
2. Neil Hodgson - 1m28.823
3. Makoto Tamada - 1m28.861
4. Ben Bostrom - 1m29.216
5. Colin Edwards - 1m29.259
6. Akira Yanagawa - 1m29.545
7. Troy Bayliss - 1m29.626
8. Eric Bostrom - 1m29.914
9. Takeishi Tsujimura - 1m29.981
10. Wataru Yoshikawa - 1m30.188
11. James Toseland - 1m30.287
12. Ruben Xaus - 1m30.377
13. Yuichi Takeda - 1m30.745
14. Chris Walker - 1m30.796
15. Gregorio Lavilla - 1m30.918
16. Lucio Pedercini - 1m31.291

The following riders did not make the SuperPole cut-off

17. Borja - 1m30.593
18. Borciani - 1m30.762
19. Heckles - 1m31.620
20. Nakamura - 1m31.830 (Time from 1st session)
21. Antonello - 1m32.012
22. Martin - 1m32.117 (Time from 1st session)
23. Clementi - 1m32.190
24. Parkes - 1m32.226
25. Sanchini - 1m32.573 (Time from 1st session)

NB:  Hitoyasu qualified for SuperPole but highsided during qualifying and as a result has to miss this weekend's round with a fractured left radius.  Organisers then promoted Eric Bostrom from his 17th position on the time sheets to 16th which enabled him to run SuperPole.  The American took full advantage during SuperPole and moved himself up to the 2nd row.